| level, constantly with the working leg above 90°elevation from the floor. The pitch and strength of the forepart of the shoe has to accommodate this, and therefore the shoes have evolved with the technique. |
| There is no correct weight for a pointe shoe, because there is exactly what you need at the time you need it. At Freed the integrity of the block is very important, and the fact that they can be worked through to become softer is essential to the dancer. There is a great misnomer about how long a pair of pointe shoes last. Most dancers, when asked, will say they wear maybe two pairs during a performance. But what is rarely asked is if they are worn again. Most shoes will be worn for half a dozen other performances and will be probably worn later in class. If a dancer is doing pas de deux or 32 fouttés on one foot, then they’ll need a strong new shoe with a firm block. However, if they’re running down the stairs in Romeo and Juliet or dancing one of the White Acts in either Swan Lake or Giselle then they’ll need a soft silent shoe, one that is older and has been worked through. If a shoe was made in a different way and is rigid at all times, then a dancer running down the stairs in Romeo and Juliet will sound like they have |
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| castanets on their feet. |
| A correctly fitted shoe is the safest shoe for the dancer. Added to this the traditional method of using layered, biodegradable materials means that when the shoe is on and the foot is warm, the air which is inside the block expands and acts as a shock absorber, which helps to reduce stress injuries. |
| One of the revelations of the ballet in the last 10 years is how imaginative the use of pointe work can be. Mr Freed would never have dreamed we would be making shoes for men to wear, in works such as She Was Black for Rambert. Many of the things that choreographers such as Mats Ek and William Forsythe do would have shocked someone making shoes in the 30s and 40s. The shoes that are made for dancers today bare no relation to the shoes made for dancers such as Fonteyn, but then neither does the technique. They may be a made in a traditional way, but they have evolved and will always continue to evolve. |
| A well trained foot in a well fitted shoe is always a pleasure to see. However, the aim of anyone making pointe shoes is that you see the dancer and not the shoe. We must never forget that what we are manufacturing is just a tool of the trade. |
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